Waxing Moon
by by1023
Summary: In the far future, the Hakurei Barrier collapses, the Lunarians reign among the humans, and the denizens of Gensokyo became scattered due to the loss of their home. Two spies are sent to infiltrate a lab and steal something precious from the Lunarians.


Rain drenched upon the bustling city, its faint glow illuminating the midnight with blues and yellows. Cars outfitted with the more modern advanced technologies piloted themselves throughout the metro, the passengers within them eagerly waiting to return to their homes and families. Unbeknownst to them, a pair of hooded figures loomed from across the roof of a nearby building their target: a facility housing precious but classified possessions from the general public.

"She said it was here right? Are you absolutely sure this is the place?" one of the figures asked the other.  
"Oh please." the other responded in tandem. "You underestimate her knowledge now? You don't have the right to be paranoid since she's leagues smarter than your pea-brain could ever begin to dream of becoming. Last time we did this using info you brought up we-"

"Ugh! Okay I get it, you're still upset at the time we got sabotaged. How am I supposed to know, the way he presented the data, it seemed like the real deal!"

"Hmph."  
"Besides, all of you went along with the idea to begin with. You could've refused but…"

"Just leave it to the people who are actually knowledgeable about these things next time." The speaker began to shake off some of the rain that got in their jacket. "I'm going to kill you again one of these days, you know."

"Hahaha, after all of these years you're still upset enough to resort to that?" The other chuckled. "Alright, we can have another duel once we finish this job, it's been a while since we've last done it."  
"U-uh sure, whatever!" The former tried to shrug nonchalantly, but she blushed at her partner's phrasing. The darkness did a good job of hiding it, however.

The two began gliding slowly towards the roof of the building under the blankets of rain and cover of night, trying to remain unseen from any witnesses. Though the facility did just look like a typical corporate building like ones of you'd see in any city, both of them knew that was just a deception. Once they landed on the top, after having passed several floors, they both collected themselves and readied their weapons. This was going to be another stealth mission, collect the targets and leave without a trace. The two huddled underneath a roof, taking some time to dry themselves.

"I'm still in awe of the gadgets humans have at this day and age." the uncovered, white haired girl muttered. "This is nothing like the junk anyone could find in Kourindou."  
"Well it's been a few hundred years." replied the black-haired companion, her hood unraveled as well. "It surprises me too. To think science could mimic magic so much, given enough time."  
"Heh! Don't underestimate humans!" her partner grinned smugly in response.  
"What? Are you becoming like that Kirisame girl now?"  
"Is that how she speaks? Well, it doesn't matter." she lets on a small smile. "…I do miss them all, Reimu, Sanae, Reisen, Ke-"

"Hey." her companion squeezed her shoulder lightly "Does that still bother you? It's to be expected, given our long life spans. I thought you were over that already."  
"It's just that…" she sighs. "I just wished they could be here to resolve incidents instead, so we don't have to be out here in the cold rain."

"Don't dwell on it too much. Their legacies live on in you and me." she spoke assuredly, and then laughed lightly while adding: "…Well, in their descendants too, I suppose."  
The other girl looked away in a moment of contemplation. "I suppose you're right." she replied.  
"I know I'm right." the other responded.

"Sure, princess Kaguya." the white haired girl jabbed mischievously "Somehow you're still around after all these years."  
"Rude! And that's no way answer address a princess either! Hmph."

"Not in that get up you're a princess, no." she looked all over her companion's body. A sneaking suit of sorts that could camouflage themselves if needed, and made little noise. She was wearing the same thing. "Though that does suit you better than your old clothes.

"Stop staring! Lecher!" her companion's face turned red as a tomato. "Stupid! Retard Mokou! I swear I'll kill you!"  
The former shrugged, feeling accomplished she's teased the other girl into embarassment once more. Perhaps they really could go on another fight to the death later. She felt it's been a long while.

"Hey!" A voice rang out in their right ears. "What's taking you geezers so long? Did something happen or have you two finally gone senile?!"  
"Give it a rest Udongein Uzuki." Mokou replied using the earpiece device. "We'll get going in a minute."

"Where are your manners!" Kaguya rang back as well "You're not as one bit as polite as Reisen was!"  
"Okaaay Auntie, just hurry up please!" the young inaba's voice cried.

"Anyways, let's get this over with and go home." Mokou muttered.  
"You're the one who started getting all sentimental and wasting time, pervert." Kaguya countered. "Let's go then."

The two slipped into the building quietly, looking around and advancing through deeper and deeper with care to avoid getting spotted. With the use of the stealth gear, the light bounced off them, making them virtually invisible. They eventually entered inside a computer room that was unoccupied. Kaguya contacted the young inaba once again using the earpiece. "Uzuki, isn't this the place where they keep most of the research data from the labs?"

"I believe so." the young voice responded "This isn't what we came for, although the Kappas and Aunty Eirin might appreciate you _borrowing_ some of the data here. Do you think you can do it?"  
"I think we can do it." Kaguya replied. "Just keep an eye out for anyone else approaching."  
"Unfortunately I'm no good with computers, but you've spent a lot of time with them so..." Mokou whispered. "You should probably do it."

"Alright, alright. Just bring out that USB, I'll take care of the rest." Kaguya answered back. Using her silencer, she shot down a security camera in the room. Since the computer room was dark to begin with, killing it won't make a difference for the people monitoring the cameras, she thought. The two turned off their invisibility and pulled out some chairs towards a computer desk.

The former began to start up the device, putting a shroud over the monitor to limit the brightness. Mokou was busy scrounging the pouch on her belt, eventually pulling out some sort of flashdrive. It was bigger than normal with some strange attachments embedded into it. "This can automatically get you past password barriers and stuff?" the tomboy asked.  
"Uh, yeah." the young lady replied. The screen booted up to a login window. "Give it to me so I can check what's in here."

Handing it over, Kaguya inserted the obscure looking flashdrive in the USB slot. A few minutes passed with nothing happening, they thought it didn't work until the login screen transitioned into one filled with thumbnails of shortcuts to folders and programs.

"Alright we're in." Kaguya declared, her fingers already clacking and clicking away, copypasting all of the interesting files she could find in the PC.  
"Good, then I'll just keep a watch out." Mokou said. Her back faced towards the other girl while she kept her gaze towards the entrance of the dark room.

After a while, Kaguya stretched her arms triumph. "Okay I'm done!" the princess spoke out. "I'm turning this off and we'll go back to what we're supposed to do."  
"People are coming!" Uzuki's voice rang in their ears. "You better hide quickly!"  
Upon hearing this, Mokou spots a few people in lab coats walking in the hallway, approaching the ajar door of the room most likely.

"Finish up ASAP!" Mokou hissed. The young princess turned the monitor off and disconnected the flashdrive in haste. Her partner put back the shroud in her pouch, and both ducked under the desks to avoid being seen by the incoming visitors. The lights turned on in the room and the group of researchers seeked out their desks, proceeding to turn on their computers and get back to their work.

"Are those…Lunarians?" Mokou muttered. She could make out the features of the people that arrived, and they definitely did not look human. Kaguya peeked out from under a desk to see for herself. "Yep. Eirin was right, this should be the place."  
"Working with the humans… now that the Hakurei Barrier's dissipated, the delicate balance keeping our worlds in place has turned into chaos." Mokou spoke to herself. "Let's turn our invisibility back on and go back to what we should be doing here, we can't stay here and watch."

Kaguya nodded in response, and the two became hidden from sight again. Keeping their steps silent, the pair snuck out of the room and went back into the hallways, descending once more into the staircases.  
"How many more floors down is it?" Kaguya asked Uzuki.  
"It should be 2 more floors down. Be careful, there are guards, take them out." the inaba replied.

Just as she said, there were guards stationed at some doors, and some patrolling the hallways. A few security cameras postioned at the corners.  
"I don't think we can just wait for an opportunity here." Mokou said. "We'll have to make one ourselves."  
"How are we supposed to do that?"  
"Watch."

The invisible tomboy used her manipulation of fire to instantaneously create walls of smoke, stuffing the hallways and leaving the cameras with nothing to see.  
"Mokou you ass! You're going to alert the whole building to this floor!" Kaguya snapped.  
"Eheh, maybe so." Mokou shrugged. "Well, at least now we don't have to hide ourselves. We can take out the guards and slip inside where they store _that_."  
"You're insufferable. So much for a covert operation…"

The two put on modified gas masks and came across a door where one of the guards were stationed. Kaguya fired at him with her silencer to his neck and he went down quietly. Using one of the cards that was on him, they were able to use it bypass the lock for the room.

Once inside, they realized it was not merely a room, but a laboratory where some of the experiments were being done. They wandered about and could see cages for rats, lambs, and monkeys. Test tubes and flasks bubbling from ongoing reactions could be seen on experiment tables… As well as vats of what seem to be templates for Moon Rabbits.

"Wow, the thing we're searching for is in here of all places?" Mokou wondered aloud.  
"Apparently so." Kaguya answered. "Come on, we have to hurry and look for it."

"Like I said a billion times, it's in some sort of safe of the Chief Researcher's room." Uzuki mentioned. "It's apparently inside a shiny black box. Just take it and come back home immediately.  
"What safe?!" Mokou exclaimed. "We've searched this room 3 goddamn times and there's nothing in here!"  
The room in mind had only a desk, chair, trashcan, and bookshelf lined with boring medical books. Absolutely spartan, but Eirin might like it.  
"Do you think our intel go it wrong? Could Eirin be mistaken after all?" Kaguya worried. This can't be good, backup should be here soon and they would have to leave. She didn't know if the two of them could take on many enemies like this. "Unless…"  
"Unless what? Did you realize something Kaguya?"  
"It could be hidden within the books of the bookshelf. So it would look inconspicuous. Mokou, inspect the bookcase again with those lenses.  
"I hope it's in there…" Mokou pulled out some chunky goggles that resembled those VR headsets from the bag she was wearing. With those she was able to have X-ray vision to a certain extent for objects. It could even be used on persons, but she wasn't going to test those out right now.

However, she was able to spot something from among the books. "I see it, the box. It's inside that thick book on the lower left corner." Mokou said. "Go get it."  
The princess retrieved the item at hand, and by opening it and flipping through the pages, she was able to find the box in question.  
"Alright, we got it." Kaguya breathed a sigh of relief. "With this, we may be able to get everything back to normal again."  
"I think at this point it's a bit too late for that." Mokou drawled.  
"Well, as normal as we can bring it back to."

Stepping out of the room, the two were suddenly greeted with a security force of Moon Rabbits in full combat gear.  
"Princess Kaguya of the Moon and Fujiwara no Mokou. To think not only you're the intruders of the night but for both of you to work together…" one of the rabbits spoke to them. She must be the leader. "Either way, you aren't getting past us. You'll be taken into custody and questioned, surrender now or suffer."

"You're aware they're making more of you in there right?" Mokou pointed at the vats containing the same creatures.  
"We all are, we're the ones that came from them after all. Now surrender quietly."  
"After you. Eat this!" Mokou shouted, spreading waves of flames at the security forces in the shapes of phoenixes. The sweltering heat caused some of the glassware to explode and some of the surrounding material to melt. It seemed like the rabbits were incapacitated, but instead the two were greeted with towering shields with burnt marks on them. They were heavily fire resistant it seems.

"Oh shit." the tomboy grimaced.  
"Fire at them!" the leader rabbit ordered. Immediately, gunfire started to rain down on the two immortals in an attempt to disable them for good. Although after a short while, they all realized the pair were gone. Vanished without a trace.

Past an exit door, an exhausted Kaguya was lifting a Mokou with a bullet wound in her leg against a wall. That will get healed in time, but the pain will be annoying.  
"W-w-what!? What happened?" Mokou jolted. Simultaneously she cringed at the pain but looked at the panting woman holding her arm across her shoulders.  
"With my powers I was able to instantaneously get us past the guards and into a safer place. I learned this ability recently." the princess was able to say between breaths. "But now I'm wiped out, I'm not used to this yet. Turn us invisible and fly us out of here, Mokou."  
Without a word, the tomboy enabled the invisibility in their suits again, shot a window down with a round from her gun, and flew towards home with Kaguya on her back, the leg still taking its time to heal. The nightly rain was still pouring, mayhaps helping the two escape by covering them in the roars of wind, water, and the dark of night.

"Hold still." the doctor ordered the tomboy. There was no way she could even afford moving anyway, hey whole body was aching after having carried the princess on an injured leg for hours on end. "I'm happy you were able to retrieve what we were looking for in the end, even if your retreat was rather messy. But next time, don't get my mistress in your reckless ideas."  
"Pfft, she'll live revive later if she dies anyway." the other white haired girl answered.  
The new Eientei in the Outside World was some secluded abode outside the city. A Japanese styled house that was quite spacious but nothing like the one they had in Gensokyo.

"Kaguya will be resting until morning it seems. But I heard something about killing you once she wakes up."  
"Of course she does." Mokou chuckled despite her weakened body. "Anyways, any news on Yukari, or the other Sages?"  
"We're sending others to search them out, but alas it seems they've went into hiding again. Even that Okina Matara, after pulling that grand display of power once, seems to have vanished with her servants."  
"As for Yukari, she's still in a deep sleep." the genius of the Moon answered. "And still no one knows why, she can't keep up the barrier in that state, after all. Even with Chen and Ran, for some reason it cannot hold."

"Has there been a new shrine maiden yet?"

"None that has ever been of caliber as the late Reimu Hakurei. Perhaps Yukari was heartbroken after her death, she gave up raising Shrine Maidens and decided to lie forever with her."

"What a useless hag, having lived so long she should be used to…"  
"is there something wrong Mokou?" Eirin inquired.  
"…nothing."

"Oy!" a voice cried out from across another room "Thanks for retrieving the data earlier from the computer! Schematics of Lunarian technology as well as data from the experiments of formulas! If only we had more time we could've gotten so much more!

The voice revealed itself to be a young Rabbit girl wearing a plain blouse and shorts. In fact, everyone in the residence was wearing clothes from the Outside world, their old clothes stored away for now.  
Uzuki left to go back inside where her computer was. "I'm sending these to the Kappas now, they'll definitely be of use against the Lunarians!"

"What an energetic child." Mokou breathed out. "Maybe more than Tewi used to be, she was always more of a manipulative type to begin with I guess."  
"Reminiscing the past again? You've been doing that a while lately, don't tell me you're becoming senile already." Eirin laughed heartily.  
"Shut up. It's just… I was just content with things staying the way they were, but now with all of this change, I don't know if I can take it Eirin."  
"You can't tolerate being friendlier with the Eientei household either?"  
"I mean, it's not that bad now I guess. But me and Kaguya were able to enjoy just passing the days by killing each other." Mokou rumbled. "But not everything lasts forever I guess, only these bodies we have do, maybe."

Suddenly, Eirin stood up to walk to the kitchen and get two cups, pouring each with chilled sake from the refrigerator, and returning to her patient. She gave one of them to the girl.  
"Thank you." Mokou said. The both of them sipped the alcohol silently, digesting what transpired tonight as well as their current conversation.  
"I too think about the past a lot." Eirin spoke up. "I think about the peaceful days in Gensokyo, despite the incidents, I can honestly say they were enjoyable."

"But you are correct, things do change, and for people like us who cannot age, we have no choice but to change ourselves. Otherwise we would be consumed by the world, or ourselves."  
"Perhaps you're right." Mokou said in agreement.

"I think that issue may be the case for a certain Gap Youkai, and now everything is chaos due to her recklessness." the doctor contemplated. "And now the rest of us have to solve things ourselves or the worlds as we know it will unravel into destruction."

Picking up the box the pair gathered earlier, Eirin opened it lightly, to reveal a gem that shone in the night, in bright multicolours. She picked it out and showed it to Mokou, who gawked at the pretty rock. "So what does that even do?" Mokou asked. "And why did we go out of our way to such lengths to retrieve it?"

"A certain Lunarian artifact that I don't think they even know the full potential of. Nonetheless, I feel like this could help solve all the problems we've been happening up till now. With this, possibly, we can awaken Yukari Yakumo once more." the genius stared into the gem. This could be their one chance at making things right again.

"What do you mean?"  
"I mean with this…" Eirin said with uncertainty, "We could bring back Hakurei Reimu."


End file.
